One Too Many Deaths
by Black Wilted Lotus
Summary: Before Snake Eyes became the black-clad ninja of Alpha Team, he was just a boy on the streets looking after his younger sister. Now, years later, Snake Eyes must prove to his little sister he is here to stay. Rated M for language and future violence.
1. My boring life

**Hey, this is my first fanfiction, and it is un-beta'd right now, so please point out any spelling, grammar, or any other mistakes in the story so that I can fix them.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own G. I. Joe, Bleach, the Black Veil Brides, or any other copyrighted product/band I mention in this chapter.**

* * *

One Too Many Deaths

Chapter 1

"_No!" I scream, placing my arms in front of my face. I begin to shake in fear of what I know is coming. _

"_Please! No more! I didn't mean to-" I start, tears coming down my face._

"_Shut up!" _he _yells. His breath smells of alcohol, like it has for the past year. "If you think I'll go easy on you just because your mother died, you're dead wrong," _he _whispers, leaning towards me and placing his sweaty hand over my mouth. "And if you be quiet, maybe I won't go so hard this time."_

_I shut my eyes as _he _begins to tear my clothes off my body, tears falling silently as I pray he won't leave me to bleed out this time._

* * *

I wake up this morning to the sounds of my own screams. Every night, it is the same dream, the same memory, that plays out in my mind. It has become so much of a routine that I cannot remember a time when I hadn't had that nightmare keeping me tossing and turning into all hours of the night.

Sighing, I stretch my arms over my head and slowly make my way over to the bathroom on the other side of the room. _The floor's cold today,_ I note as I step onto the black linoleum tiles.

"I will have to get a rug in here soon, otherwise I'll freeze my feet off in the winter again," I chuckle, remembering that morning I had stepped onto the tiles and immediately jumped back towards the white carpet of the bedroom. _I still have that scar on my leg from slamming into the dresser and catching it on that stray nail, _I think to myself.

Rolling my shoulders back, I gather my dirty blonde hair in front of the mirror and try to tame the curls that threaten to ensnare any objects within reach into a ponytail. Once I am able to get my hair the way I want it, I walk swiftly back into my bedroom to gather my clothes for the day. I change into a baggy pair of guy's black sweatpants, a black _Bleach _t-shirt, and a trench coat that looks like it came straight out of the _Matrix_.

"Maybe it's time to get more 'gender appropriate' clothes," I mumble to myself, smiling at the use of my friend Dante's expression. He said it when he asked why I always dress like him or borrow his clothes for the gym.

I grab my car keys for the old "Rust Bucket" -as I have come to call it- and an orange from the basket on the counter before heading out the door.

Starting up the car, I am immediately assaulted by the blasting of Black Veil Brides' "Legacy". I automatically turn the music down, hoping I haven't waken anyone in the neighborhood. They already have different reasons to shun me, and I don't want to give them the satisfaction of having a reason to call the police- especially claiming I was "disturbing the peace".

* * *

"I hate this freaking place." I grumble to no one in particular. Quickly glancing around the room filled with 8x8 cubicles to see if anyone was watching, I started to doodle on the notepad I kept with me to "capture any spark of inspiration that came my way" as Dante would say. Now I know I should be working on whatever my assignment is today, but I don't feel like it. And I also know that I should have dressed less casually for a cubicle job, but I absolutely hate being an accountant and getting fired would be the best thing to happen to me. _I already have a career in photography going for me, and I can always teach at some school for extra money…_

_Slam! _I'm yanked out of my thoughts at the sound of something heavy hitting my desk. Startled, I turn around to punch the person who made the racket when I realize it's just Dante.

"Hey, you know ya' can't daydream on the job, right?" he asks with a smirk, leaning against my cubicle wall.

"Yeah, I know," I sigh. "I can't help it though-this place is _so _boring."

"I think it is too, but beggars can't be choosers." Dante says. He pushes his dark hair back with one of his olive-skinned arms. Not many people know the power he has in those arms. They may look weak with his over-sized business shirt on, but I've seen him in action at the martial arts studio where he practices. He can flip a man twice his height with little trouble, and that's saying something considering Dante is 6' 4''. Thinking of his fighting skills reminded me of my older brother-he used to practice fighting and from what I remember, he had a talent for it… I shake my head to clear the memories clawing their way to the surface.

Dante takes his hand away from his face and places it on top of my head, pushing it with enough force to make me turn away.

"Hey! What's that for?" I ask.

"For staring," he states bluntly. A knowing smile graces his lips. "Also because you looked lonely just now."

I smile broadly back at him, grateful for his friendship. "Thanks Dante."

For those that don't know me, here's a little thing about my past-it made me the person I am today. I have no mother or father left in existence, and my only sibling was separated from me at an early age. These days, I have a small circle of friends that I have absolute trust in.

Dante's brown eyes sparkle at the sight of my full blown smile that people rarely see. "Don't mention it, now go get back to work Rachel."

" 'Kay," I respond, giggling slightly.


	2. The Sister of the Snake

**I'm _back~ _Hope you all enjoy this chapter. Again, please let me know if you see any spelling or grammatical errors.**

**Disclaimer: I unfortunately do not own G. I. Joe**

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_*Snake Eyes' POV*_

I stare at the overhead screen in front of me. The picture on it has contained so many memories, so much of my childhood. Only General Hawk knows the truth about the small girl in it. She is only around four or five, with curly bleach-blonde hair and big blue eyes. _She's wearing her favorite dress,_ I think to myself. It was a small, pink dress with purple cartoon ribbons flying between pictures of teddy bears and puppies. _She spilled sauce on it later that day,_ I silently chuckle at the memory.

My teammates watch the photo intently, waiting for General Hawk to explain the significance. _At least, _most _of them, _I think annoyed. While everyone else is lined up waiting to be debriefed, Duke and Ripcord are having a side conversation about Scarlet and myself, from what I am able to hear. I silently creep over to them and stand behind Ripcord, arms folded.

Duke stops talking and his blue eyes widen slightly before glancing down at his shoes.

"Snake's right behind me huh?" Ripcord asks in a guilty voice. Before his friend can answer, I place my hand on the smaller man's shoulder and turn him to face me. I motion with my hands as simply as I can, pointing at the two men then to the screen-_Watch it, _throwing the thought to them. "Sorry, Snake." they both mumble. I step away from them as Hawk comes in the room. My team and I stand at attention and salute our leader.

"At ease," Hawk says without turning to look at us. We all visibly relax once he says this -especially Scarlet, who will stay standing at attention for hours if Hawk doesn't give the "ok".

"Now, I called you all here because I have decided to recruit another member for the Joe's," Hawk states. "This is an older picture of the person I would like you to convince to join."

Highlander looks at the picture confused. "So, why are we being shown a picture of this girl when she was really young?" he asks.

"Because we have no clear photos of her face, and she is always hiding from cameras," General Hawk retorts.

"How old would she be now?" Ripcord asks, receiving a glare from Scarlet that said 'Watch your tongue' and quickly hangs his head in shame.

"She is around 22 to 23 years old. Now go get ready while I give Breaker the coordinates of her current location."

"Yes sir," the others reply in unison before leaving for our bunker.

Before I exit, I give General Hawk a slight nod of my head to show my thanks. He does the same as he hovers over Breaker's computer screen, then I retreat to my room to pack what I would need.

* * *

_*Rachel's POV*_

I hate walking in this part of town. I hate it with a passion. I had to ditch the "Rust Bucket" because the engine seized up. And as of five minutes ago, it's raining. _What. The. Fuck._ I hate walking this way because the gang nearby tries to initiate their members by having them abduct women and see if they're "man enough" to kill them or rape them. I'm just glad I learned self-defense after-

Before I am able to finish my dark thought (thankfully), a clap of thunder roars overhead and I walk faster to my house.

* * *

As I change out of my soaking wet clothes in the bathroom, I hear a knock at the door.

"Just a minute!" I call over my shoulder. I redress in a navy blue long-sleeved shirt and jeans, undo my hair from its tie, and hurriedly walk to open the door. I realize a blonde-haired man is waiting on my steps dressed in an army uniform, and I groan internally.

"Are you Rachel Williams?" he asks intently.

Suddenly suspicious, I respond "And who's asking?"

"I'm Duke, from a military organization known as the Joe's. May I come in?" he pleads.

Sighing, I move aside and motion for him to come in. Duke looks back at a black van that is parked on the other side of the street and gives the driver a thumbs up. The driver responds by turning around to talk to someone behind him and the side door slides open with a _whoosh._ Five figures step out of the van-one completely covered in a black body suit and wearing a dark brown trench coat similar to the one I wore this morning.

They make their way closer and I also find that one of them is a redheaded woman and she's carrying a 9 mm on her hip.

_Oh great, more reasons for the cops to come, _I think. They shuffle their way past me and down the hall to where the once-clean living room existed. The group takes their seats on the old 1920's couch I took from Dante's aunt a few years ago.

"Sorry I didn't clean up, but I wasn't expecting people over," I say, embarrassed.

"It's no problem, we should have given you warning," the redhead replies. "The reason we are all here is to recruit you into our organization, the Joe's, which Duke has already mentioned."

I furrow my brow in confusion. "Why would I be selected to join your organization?"

At this, the man in the body suit took out a small notebook and pen. Scribbling something on it, he walked towards me and passed it over.

_You are extremely talented. So talented, in fact, that you have been noticed by our organization and are now given the opportunity to work for us. With your own room at the base, of course._

Glancing at the note, I contemplate about how much it would cost me to leave this place and have my own apartment with these "Joes".

"Would I be able to stay in contact with my friends?" I ask.

"You'll have to talk with our boss, General Hawk, about that," a tall black man answers.

"… And you are?" I ask curiously.

The redhead steps forward, and answers "I'm Scarlet, that's Duke, Ripcord, Highlander, and the ninja is Snake Eyes," pointing to each person respectively.

"Alright, I'll come with you…. At least give me a few hours to say goodbye and pack up my things." I say.

"Of course," Scarlett replies. She starts for the door with her comrades following behind. The ninja- _Snake Eyes,_ I correct myself- appears to want to approach me, but quickly heads out after them with light, hurried steps.

_What's up with him? _I wonder. I sigh at the thought of telling Dante that I'll be leaving him behind and the possibility of never seeing him again.


	3. A Snake's Good-bye?

**Hey, sorry this is so short, but I just found out a friend of mine passed away today. I feel like if I continue writing the rest of this chapter then it won't be as good as it can be. If you know of him, please remember Peter Habbib. He was very talented and intelligent, and everyone in our school loved him. He has been in videos on YouTube, and if you want to see some of his stuff, then look up Jesters Inc. -R.I.P. Peter-**

* * *

_"What?!" _Dante exclaimed. After the Joe's left, I immediately called Dante over to talk about my new line of work. Long story short, he was not all that happy.

"Why would you agree to go with them? You don't even know what they even do for work! They could be secret agents working for some country's government hellbent on taking out the President or something!" Dante continued, sinking into my couch with his hands scrubbing his face.

"Look, I don't care all that much what they do at this point. I have no family, no friends besides you, and no one in this neighborhood even likes me. Last year, they threatened to call the cops saying I was a sex offender after some of their kids peeked into my room and watched me dance around in my lingerie singing Evanescence songs at the top of my lungs." I answered back heatedly and sat down in my black recliner.

"That was your own fault since you were the one who was drinking that night," Dante said. "I even told you to slow down before you went overboard, but you wouldn't listen to me."

"Actually that was _your_ fault since you _insisted_ on bringing those beers over, and you know I can't have very many... Though I do admit to seeing a tiger outside my window," I retorted.

Dante looked at me like I suddenly had three heads. "Rach, that was a dog. You must have had more than I thought."

I gazed back at him, confused for a moment, then decided to let the matter go with a wave of my hand. "Whatever, I have to get packed soon. I don't want to leave off on a bad note if we can't see each other again," I said, my voice quieting into a murmur. "I don't want to mess this relationship up too. I don't want you to hate me like the others."

I choked back a small sob as Dante stood up and walked into the other room. For a moment, the voice in the back of my head taunted me, saying _See? He will leave and not even look back. _I shoved the voice back into its box in the darker parts of my mind. I didn't need to feel worse about my situation than I already did. I knew Dante would be just as heartbroken if I couldn't be with him, or at least talk with him, about my day or problems that may have come up.

As I was arguing with myself about how I would handle the turn the conversation had taken, Dante came back into the living room and took my hand, placing something smooth, lightweight, and cool to the touch, into my palm. Opening it, I realized that I had a polished canine from some animal in my hand. Attached at the top of the tooth was a leather string to hang the tooth around a person's neck, while the tooth itself looked to have just come from a rather large mammal's mouth. Smiling softly as I put the necklace on, Dante told me "The tooth of the Wolf will protect you. All you have to do is call out, and the wolf will save you."

"He will, will he?" I asked, playfully nudging Dante. He just laughed and nudged me right back.

"If you howl like the wolves, you will always have someone to answer you," Dante answered calmly, with a hint of a smile on his lips. He kissed the top of my head and said I should go get packed, with a small push that placed me at the hallway leading to my bedroom. Grinning back at him, I made my way to the room and pulled out an old red suitcase from my closet, and began packing all my clothes into it.


	4. Past vs Present

**Hi guys~ I'm back! This is just a piece I came up with during school after suffering from a small bout of writer's block. Hope you all enjoy this chapter, and I may end up changing it if you guys don't like it. Please review! Shout out to Audrey Whyte and MadaSasu for being my 2 reviewers. You two get double chocolate chip muffins *hands each muffins*.. Anyway, on with the story~~**

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_*Snake Eyes POV*_

..._She has grown up without me._ It was all I could think when I stood in front of Rachel. Even when being asked to leave her current life here-_ in the middle of her own apartment, for chrissakes!_-she stood fast and wouldn't let anything shake her. Before, when she was just a child, she had to be careful of what she did because of heart problems. Rachel always was frail in appearance - like a small gust of wind could knock her over with minimal effort; but don't let that fool you. Under that weak exterior, Rachel was a fighter. She wouldn't let anyone get away with doing something wrong. She even stood up to a snarling (and possibly rabid) dog that tried to attack me when I was just a boy myself.

I sigh at the memory of seeing my baby sister, barely 6 years old and gripping a small rusted pipe she found on the ground, standing in between myself and an angry adult grey akita*.

* * *

_-Flashback-_

_I had been running for a while, so much so that my legs were turning to jelly and I couldn't breathe properly. It had taken more effort than it should have, but I had managed to get a handful of rice from the supply chest of a market vendor when he wasn't looking. Unfortunately, he saw me as I tried to put the rice into an old water bottle and grabbed for me before I was able to escape._

_In fear of keeping Rachel at the little abandoned shack we used for shelter, alone and afraid her Nii-chan wouldn't make it back this time with food, I elbowed the man in his side hard enough for him to let me go. I ran as fast and as far as I could away from the market, taking all the shortcuts through the alleys and clutching the plastic bottle that was my sister's lifeline._

I'm close now, so close to seeing Rachel again_, I think as I round the last corner to the alley that will lead me directly to our shack. Suddenly, my feet catch on something, and my body crashes to the ground. I turn to look back at what tripped me, and freeze in fear._

_There, standing directly across from me, was a snarling, bristling, grey akita. Its once fluffy fur had become matted and was falling out in places, and its brown eyes were gleaming with a twisted hatred and hunger. There was drool and foam coming from its jaws, the light pink of gums and the off-white of its teeth shown clearly in the mid-day sun shining from above us._

_In the next moment, two things happened. First, the akita lunged, its maw open and gaping, ready to close around my throat. The second, a rusty and broken pipe from some long gone appliance smashed into the animal's shoulder like a bat hitting a baseball._

_The dog yelped at the attack, and took a few steps back, growling. A figure stepped into my line of sight, which was firmly glued on the beast a few feet away. I looked over to thank my savior, when I noticed what the person was wearing. _

_They had on a soft pastel-colored blue dress with pink ribbons going up the sides. I knew that it couldn't be, _shouldn't be_, possible, and I finally glance up to see the person's face. Even though I was behind her, I knew this girl from the moment she was born, and when she turned around to look back at me quickly, my heart felt like it was going to burst - out of fear, surprise, or utter joy, I didn't know._

_My baby sister, metal pipe in hand like it was my old baseball bat, was defending _me _- a twelve-year-old boy who grew up on the streets and gave away his childhood so that his little sister would never have to._

_In the middle of my thoughts, I almost missed the dog lash out again. It had just about reached Rachel when she jabbed it in the eye with the end of the pipe. The animal screamed in pain and leaped back for a moment, before attacking again. Quickly, I stood up and made to reach for Rachel's pipe, when she bent down and threw a cardboard box side at the dog. The akita grabbed it out of the air like a frisbee, and as it was tearing it to pieces, Rachel handed me a small 2x4 that used to make the wooden siding of an old crate we had in the shack._

_Before I could stop her, Rachel screamed and ran at the dog, who was caught off guard at the loud sound and was promptly beaten by her metal pipe. With each hit, she shouted "Bad puppy! Go away!" or "That's_ my _Nii-chan, go get your own to play with!"_

_A few minutes later, the dog slunk away down the alley and across the road. When I was positively sure it had left for good, I scooped up my now-heavily panting sister and brought her into the shack, telling her the whole while that she was even more brave than her Nii-chan. She had a fever for 2 days after that and would only let me go outside if it was to find food._

* * *

Looks can be deceiving, but they can also tell you about the person. If one day you come upon an elderly man with a hunched-over back and a cane in the park, one would think he was just enjoying a day out in the sun, waiting to see his grandchildren again. If you were to look closer, you might see the scars on his arms and peeking out of his shirt, running up his neck - mementos of a war long since fought and comrades you were to dig deeper, you might find that he goes to the park to forget, to try to not hear the screams of his dying friends or of his angry wife that divorced him forty years ago; the disappointed faces of his children that believed their father was capable of getting past it, but ended up drinking his best years away.

When I think back to the determined little girl who was my whole world, and then look at her now- sitting on the other side of the jet's belly with her red suitcase tucked away beneath her and looking at everyone around her with suspicion and some fear in her eyes- I realize how much she has changed. _Rachel has lost her ]trust in others_, I think to myself. I truly hope that the accepting nature (and protectiveness) of her youth was not gone forever. It would make revealing myself to her all the more harder.

* * *

**A/N: *An akita is a dog, it kind of looks like a chow, but is a little bigger and leaner. It's also Japan's National Dog since it is so popular.**

**If the flashback is too overwhelming, I'm sorry, but I have a habit of putting in useless information and I just basically typed this off the top of my head since I changed the chapter plot completely at the last second from what I originally had planned. If too many of you are confused, I will go back and revise it. **


	5. The Pit

**Sorry I left you all for such a long time! I had writer's block on what should happen next, so I just wrote this as a sort of filler chapter, just to establish some friendships and have Hawk make up some reason for Rachel to join the Joes (other than her being Snake's little sis and Snake Eyes himself asking Hawk to take her in.) Anyway, hope everybody likes this chapter, enjoy~**

* * *

_*Rachel's POV*_

Ever had that feeling that you're an outsider who shouldn't belong?

Yeah, that's what I'm feeling right now. I stick out like a sore thumb - a cross dressing shrimp surrounded by a group of people in army uniforms in a giant ass jet. It may just be my paranoia working up again though, since everybody has given me space and whenever they talked to me, they were polite.

Looking around, I notice how all the other Joe's are wrapped up in their own ways of dealing with long distance travel. Scarlet was reading a book about strategic attacks; Duke was polishing his gun; Highlander and Breaker were up at the front of the jet, doing God-knows-what; and Ripcord was digging through his pockets for something. Snake Eyes was sitting on the other side of the jet, looking like he was either watching everybody through his peripheral vision or just falling asleep. I can't tell with that visor-mask-thing over his eyes.

Feeling a tap on my shoulder, I glance at the person on my right, only to come face to face with Ripcord. Instinctively backing away a few inches, I ask him "What do you want?"

"I thought I'd ask why you were chosen to be recruited by General Hawk. You any good at fighting? We could spar at the Pit if you'd like." he said, a somewhat-hopeful look on his face.

"I only know a few moves, but I'd love to spar sometime. I don't really get to fight in hand-to-hand combat all that much." I answered.

"Cool!" Ripcord exclaimed, putting in an ear bud and turning on a badly beaten I-Pod. "You want to listen? I have a wide variety on this thing, so I could probably find something you would like." He offered me his other ear bud and I put it in my ear, saying "Sure, I like a bunch of different music styles anyway."

Ripcord scrolled through his songs, before pausing to look at one in particular. "Aww, this was the song I sang to Scarlet the night we became a couple," he said while staring at the screen in fondness.

I looked over and saw _**Matt Nathanson**: 'To the Beat of Our Noisy Hearts'_ on the screen. I hummed in agreement, and said "It's a good couple song."

Ripcord smiled at the comment and continued scrolling through the songs, then stopped at **_Escape the Fate_**_: When I Go Out, I Want To Go Out On A Chariot Of Fire_.

"This any good?" he turned and asked me.

"This is an awesome song," I replied smiling. "One of my favorites."

Ripcord pressed the "play" button, and we both sat back and listened to Ronnie Radke sing about a car crash murder.

_He had a plan to kill you all along_  
_ The evidence was hidden in this song_  
_ I was a ghost, I was there at the scene_  
_ As the embers rise my hands_  
_ Smelled like gasoline_

_ So, the head lights murdered my thoughts_  
_ I curse this taste that's on my tongue_  
_ This taste will last until I rip it out_  
_ No, I won't need these gloves_  
_ Her bones are withered away _  
_ But her ghost will remain_

_ You're the only one that wore your seatbelt_  
_ We're the only ones that cried_  
_ Catastrophic accidents_  
_ You're the only one that died_

_ So keep my casket closed_  
_ Your heart beats under the floor_  
_ It haunts me in my dreams_  
_ And nothing's as it seems_

_ Hallelujah_

_ So just believe in me_  
_ I'll never let you down_  
_ This was a curse I can say_  
_ As you lie in your grave_

_ You're the only one that wore your seatbelt_  
_ We're the only ones that cried_  
_ Catastrophic accidents_  
_ You're the only one that died_

_ So keep my casket closed_  
_ Your heart beats under the floor_  
_ It haunts me in my dreams_  
_ And nothing's as it seems_

_ (But her ghost will remain as you lie in your grave)_  
_ (But her ghost will remain as you lie in your grave)_

_ All the choices you've made_  
_ And the paths that I take_  
_ You're the only one that died_  
_ The evidence was hidden in this song_

_ All the choices you've made_  
_ And the paths that I take_  
_ We're the only ones that cried_  
_ Irrelevant_  
_ I knew it all along_

_ All the choices you've made_  
_ And the paths that I take_  
_ (It was never enough, it was never enough_  
_ it was never enough now was it)_

_ So keep my casket closed_  
_ Your heart beats under the floor_  
_ It haunts me in my dreams_  
_ But nothing's as it seems_

_So keep my casket closed  
__ Your heart beats under the floor_  
_ It haunts me in my dreams_  
_ But nothing's as it seems_

_So keep my casket closed_  
_ Your heart beats under the floor_  
_ It haunts me in my dreams_  
_ But nothing's as it seems_

* * *

Finally, we arrived at the Joe's base. Everyone stood up and grabbed their things before they stepped off the jet and onto a concrete tarmac, from what I could see coming out. As I followed Ripcord and the other Joe's to the other side of the hanger, I looked around to see about _thirty_ jets,similar to the one we arrived in, all lined up against opposite sides of the hanger with people inspecting or maintaining them.

After about two minutes, we reached the main base, and headed up to General Hawk's office. The actual base was at least the same size as the hanger, if not bigger! I stood on the stairs for a moment or two just _in awe _of how big and cool the place was before I caught up to the others and waited outside the door to General Hawk's office for him to be finished with a conference.

General Hawk didn't keep us waiting very long and had us inside his office, standing at attention within a minute and a half of arriving. He paced the room slowly, his hands behind his back, and watched my every move. It was more than a little unsettling, to say the least.

"Hello, Rachel. My name is General Abernathy, but the people around here call me General Hawk. I have brought you to the Pit because I believe you will be of great use to your country in times of need, and be a great addition to my rankings. What do you think?" General Hawk asked, looking at me intently.

Shrugging slightly, I tried to think of a response that wouldn't piss him off. "Honestly, I don't know if I'd be a good match for your troops, General. I mean yeah, I can kind of fight, but you already have a ninja on your side." I answered, pointing at Snake Eyes. "And I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to top that even if I tried." Looks like I failed, damn.

"Well, I always need help with technical support and I can never get enough field agents. Would you be interested in those positions? As an agent, I could have you stationed anywhere in the world, and so long as you complete your mission, you could be free to do whatever you wanted." Hawk said.

"I like the field agent position. Would I even fit the requirements, though?" I asked.

The General thought for a moment before replying "Yes, the only requirements are that you have basic fighting training, and can follow orders to the letter."

"Sounds like something I could handle." I answered. "Guess I'm in then?"

Hawk smiled softly and brought out a manila folder from behind his desk. Opening it, he stamped the first page with an 'APPROVED' stamp and said, "Now you are."

* * *

After Hawk was done with me, he had us all dismissed to the Alpha Team Quarters. Apparently, I was very valuable as a soldier since not many of his normal field agents knew at least three languages and have as many achievements as I do. When Ripcord and Duke heard that I knew that many languages, they made the _funniest_ faces. They're probably the kinds of people who don't think anyone can know more than two languages. I was like that before, when I was forced to take Spanish in high school. Back then I only knew Japanese and English, which I _still_ would mess up occasionally.

The walk from Hawk's office to our barracks wasn't as long as I thought it would be. It only took five minutes of navigating through multiple corridors did we arrive at our door.

The living room area was wide and open. There was a flat screen on the right side of the wall, on top of a massive surround sound. I could see a Wii and PlayStation 3 hiding in a cabinet with the controllers and games. There was this big black leather couch and a matching recliner set facing the television that looked _so comfy _I wanted to lie down on it immediately.

The kitchen area was in the back and had a cedar wood island in the middle of it that seemed big enough for everyone to sit down at. The walls were painted a maroon color and little decorations other than the one picture of the team hanging near the cedar kitchen cabinets above a granite countertop.

I noticed there were two other rooms branching off from the main area, as well as a hallway where supposedly our rooms were. Scarlet led the way and showed me the rooms as everyone else went and did their own thing. My room was the farthest door on the right side of the hallway, next to Snake Eyes' and across from Duke's room. Scarlet let me be and left to go work out on her treadmill as I settled into my room.

The room wasn't all that spectacular, but what do you expect? I'm the first person to actually _own_ the room. The room is about a 15'x13' room, so it is about a decent sized room. If the walls were painted, then it would be in a white paint. I can't be certain, but it probably wasn't and I'm just looking at the white-wash primer they put on the walls so that if someone does take the room, all they would have to do is get some paint and paint it themselves. **(A/N: The primer helps the actual paint adhere to the walls better. It's like a first starting coat.)** The carpet is a light blue, almost gray color, and the bathroom tiles are a darker navy blue color. The bathroom is right across from the bed, so at least that way if I have to get up and use the toilet I won't be flailing and trying to find the goddamn light switch for very long. There was also a closet on the other side of that same wall, next to a mahogany dresser. The bed already had my giant zebra pillow, comforter and sheets on it (since I sent them ahead of me) and there was a nightstand on the left side of the bed.

Shutting the door, I took my red suitcase and put it on the bed. Once I got it unzipped, I started unpacking my clothes and putting them into the dresser. After that was finished, I put my toothbrush and other toiletries into the bathroom and my red suitcase went under the bed. I put on the wolf tooth necklace Dante gave me before I left, and headed out the door.

* * *

**First off, please don't kill me for not updating! I had very little clues to go with to make this chapter! Also, is a 15x13 foot room decent size? I just looked at my room and guessed at its size, then wrote it down. **

**.. Oh! I wanted to mention that the giant zebra pillow is one of those fluffy expensive pillows you would find at Wal-Mart or Christmas Tree Shop or Target that's about 4 feet long. I had my mom read this and she was confused by that, even though my zebra pillow was right next to me. Just thought I'd mention it in case other people had a blonde moment.**

**For those of you wondering when the angst is really going to start, just wait. I still have to have Snake Eyes tell Rachel who he really is, then maybe introduce a couple OC's to spark Rachel's past and hopefully bring that into play with the plot. Anywho.. Please review, comment ,favorite, etc. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!**


	6. Meeting New People

**Hi everybody! I finally got a chance update! Yay! Enjoy~**

* * *

_-Rachel's POV_

I made my way out of the hallway where our rooms were, and headed towards the living room area. Duke and Ripcord were playing _Call of Duty_ in multiplayer mode, while Scarlet sat at the island and watched them, eating a protein bar. Snake Eyes, Breaker, and Highlander were nowhere to be seen.

I walked over to the boys and passed by Scarlet, who gave a quick _"hello" _smile to me before going back to eating. I waved back at her then turned around to get closer to the TV. Out of habit, my right foot stretched out and snagged the leg of one of the chairs under the island. A small shriek escaped my lips from surprise, and I fell into a left lunge. I quickly hopped forward on my left foot, just enough to slide across the floor, and was able to pull my other foot out from within the chair. Once freed, I gathered my legs underneath me and stood up with my old ballerina grace.

"You okay?" Scarlet asked, looking at me with a concerned expression on her face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just a little clumsy.. most of the time." I chuckled nervously. "If I don't watch where my feet are, they tend to go off on their own."

_You lie. It's not true that you're clumsy, is it? You lying bitch._

_ **Why do you always lie to everyone? Are you scared they'll try to take you away to somewhere that no one will hear you scream?**_

_ What if they raped you? You would just _love_ that, wouldn't you, you filthy little whore?_

_ **Just tell them the truth. We all know that they'll leave you in the mud once they find out through Hawk or someone else. Why not tell them now and get it over with? .. Oh wait, that's right, you can't! You are just a lying, worthless piece of shit that can't even bring herself to tell complete strangers the truth about something so trivial!**_

_What would your real parents say if they knew the truth? What about your foster parents? Would they cry and weep and try to fix you with medications that won't work against us? Would they send you to an asylum?_

_ **What would your dearest **_**Nii-chan**_** think about you if he knew what you did?**_

_ SHUT UP! _I shouted in my head. _We are all one in the same, so stop talking to me about what I've done. And something like that is_ not_ trivial. Just leave me alone!__ I don't need a lecture about my past right now, and especially not from the two of you! _I resisted the urge to cover my ears with my hands and instead shook my head slightly, trying to clear my thoughts and focus on what was happening.

Turning away from Scarlett quickly after my minute-long argument with my voices, I go over to stand beside Ripcord on the leather couch.

"Hey, Ripcord? You want to go spar? My body's still stiff from the flight and I need to move around." I ask hopefully.

"Sure," he answers. "Once I beat Duke this round we can go down to Snake's dojo place in the back of the Pit, maybe use some of his wooden swords and stuff."

"Okay, I'll go get changed." I say as I start retreating to my room.

"Hey, who said you were going to beat me, Rip?" Duke asks, his voice muffled slightly by the distance between us.

I smirk slightly as the two friends start bickering, and open my door to change.

After I got done changing into a blue, baggy t-shirt and a pair of old gray sweatpants I converted to knee-length shorts, I went back to the living room to wait for Ripcord to be done with his round.

"This round is way longer than I expected." I noted as I came around the side of the couch and settled on the arm of one of the recliners.

"Duke's hiding." Ripcord stated, continuing his hunt for his friend's character.

"I am _not_," Duke replied. "You just can't understand the word 'camouflage'."

As Ripcord turned his character around in another attempt to find Duke, I spotted the man Duke was playing as. The man was on his stomach, a sniper rifle in his hands, laying down on the edge of a nearby building's roof.

Without hesitation, I took Ripcord's controller and faced Duke's character. I took a few of Ripcord's grenades and tossed them on to the roof before Duke could get his man to stand. The next instant, a charred hunk of flesh being propelled into the sky - that promptly fell in front of Ripcord's character - was all that was left of Duke's player.

"What?! He was right there the whole time?" Ripcord asked to no one in particular.

"Damn, I thought that was a good hiding spot." Duke said.

"It was," I agreed. "But not good enough for me. I'm not good at actually playing video games, so I normally find the enemies for whoever's side I'm on. Now it's almost second nature to find snipers or other guys."

"That's cool. Next time Rip and I have a go at each other on this again you'll be on my side." Duke said enthusiastically.

"Sure, it'll be sort of fair." I agree again.

I stand up and walk over to the door as Ripcord puts his controller away and goes over to give Scarlet a quick good-bye kiss. He jogs back over to me and we both head for Snake's training area.

* * *

As Ripcord and I get close to the training hall, a cacophony of grunts, groans, and the _thwack_ of wood hitting wood reaches our ears.

"Sounds like Snake is putting some of the marines through their paces." Ripcord commented.

We turn right, past a small water fountain set inside a small alcove in the corridor, and arrive in front of Snake Eye's dojo.

Though the building itself looked to be previously used as an ammo supply warehouse, anyone could see that whoever redecorated it wanted it to look like they had just walked into a dojo in the heart of Tokyo. There were banners under two small windows on either side of the door that read "_Courage_" and "_Perseverance_" in kanji.

I pushed the old wooden door open and my gaze was immediately drawn to the left wall, where all the assorted weapons were on display against bamboo panels. There were sai, katanas, a bokken*, some throwing knives, a leather whip with metal plating along the sides, an assortment of handguns, and a whole rack of metal poles with rubber grips. I looked at said poles curiously, before taking my sneakers off and placing them near the door. I noticed the floor was covered in blue gymnastic mats, and felt a sense of glee spark within me. _M__ats equal people hitting the ground, which means somebody is kicking asses.. I'm going to have some _fun_ here_. I thought, laughing evilly in my mind.

I searched for Snake Eyes, hoping to ask him for a few lessons to improve my own martial arts techniques, and then I saw _him_. The man who caused me all sorts of problems, including my voices.

I froze in place, hoping he wouldn't see me. His back was turned from me, so I couldn't see his face. The rational part of my mind kept telling the rest of me that it _couldn't _be possible that _H__e _was here. The man I have feared for so long was _dead_ after all, but this person that had just walked in and started talking to others had the _same_ bulky body, the _same_ hair and skin coloration, and even gave off the same fearful impression as _he _did. I felt like running and hiding in a safe place before breaking down crying, just like I used to do when I was younger.

Suddenly, the man turned and I could see his face. He had a farmer's tan, brown eyes and hair, and his square jaw was set in a frown.

_It isn't him_, I thought, releasing a breath I hadn't remembered holding. _He _had a face anyone would remember. _His_ face was pudgy from all the extra weight gained from alcohol, his green eyes _always_ filled with malice and hate, and there was a deep, jagged scar on his cheek from when he pushed me too far once. Remembering the night I gave him that scar, my ribs and legs began to ache with phantom pains.

_I can't believe I was so _stupid _to think that _he _would somehow come back from the dead and wind up here. _I thought, berating myself. _Then again, that douche shouldn't have been facing away from me in the first place. That goddamn motherfucker could've given me a heart attack or something! _All of the fear that had previously been coursing through my veins turned into red-filled _hate. _

_How _**dare** _he make feel so afraid! That bastard needs to pay!_ I thought, fire boiling my blood.

I marched over to the man, ignoring Ripcord's advance towards me, and punched the bastard straight in the ribs. I stepped back and watched the man fall to his knees. The bastard was fucking _huge_ compared to me. He had to be about 6'7'' at full height, dwarfing my 5'3''. I didn't pay much more attention to the man's characteristics, and glanced up quickly to find his companions he was previously conversing with had formed a semicircle behind the fucker and had confused, angry expressions on their faces.

It was quite funny to see, actually.

I looked back down at the man, watching him stand back up.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?" he shouted at me, his friends backing up slightly.

I didn't respond, and instead turned on my heel, lifted my leg up, and connected my roundhouse kick with his solar plexus*. The force (and surprise) of the blow sent the soldier sprawling back on the floor.

I sensed the other people who were around us converge into a ring that trapped the fucker inside with me. I grinned at the thought, and all of a sudden, _Kick Ass_ by Egypt Central was playing in my head.

My grin widened even more at the song, and I followed the man's movements as he struggled to stand. After he was at his full height, I launched myself at his chest.

_Now is the moment  
I waited for  
I can't be broken  
I settled the score  
I will not quit  
So stand up, up, up_

___So stand up  
Get your hands up  
Move  
Are you ready to  
Are you ready to_

_Stand up  
Get your hands up  
Move  
Are you ready to kick ass_

The bastard caught me in his trunk-like arms, and tried to throw me off of him. I swiped my hand at his face, and instinctively he brought his arms up to protect it, dropping my in the process.

_So stand up  
Get your hands up  
Move  
Are you ready to  
Are you ready to_

I landed on my feet, and stomped my foot on one of the man's knees and inwardly cackled at the _crack_ and groan of pain that quickly followed. The soldier fell to the ground again, clutching his fractured knee. I felt like stomping on his foot, but stopped myself - I didn't want to have _too _much fun, after all.

_Stand up  
Get your hands up  
Move  
Are you ready to kick ass_

The man stood again after a few moments, favoring his undamaged leg. I have to admit, it was surprising to see him get up so soon, but he _is _a marine. The bastard reached out for me, and managed to clutch a fistful of my shirt. He brought his arm back, and punched my mouth and nose two times before dropping me to the ground. I could feel the sharp ache in my nose and realized it was broken again.

_Conquer the weakness  
Work through the pain  
I can't be defeated  
I will remain  
I will not quit  
So stand up, up, up_

I quickly felt my nose, and with a loud _crack_ I snapped my nose back into place before the swelling could damage it further. I got to my feet, and prepared to kick the man again when I felt a pair of arms restraining me. With my arms pinned at my sides, and my mind still in the red haze of battle, I tried to bite the appendages holding me. Before I could sink my teeth into whoever's flesh, I was struck in the back of my skull, just hard enough for black spots to appear in vision.

I growled softly at the spots, willing them to go away, and looked up to find Ripcord and another man had restrained that shit-face I was fighting. My hate began to drain out of me, and left me feeling all of my aches and bruises from the match. The arms clutching me like a lifeline weren't helping either. I glanced down at said arms and found that they were covered in a black stretchy material.

_Snake Eyes. _I realized.

_.. _

_Shit._

* * *

"Care to tell me why you randomly attacked Luke Harron?" General Hawk asked for the eleventh time.

"Like I said, he reminded me of somebody I used to know.. That I hate." I responded._ Every time he asks me the fucking same question, I'll come back with the same damn answer. If he can't accept my logic, then he can go fuck it. _I think darkly, and glare at Hawk some more.

General Hawk sighs for the umpteenth time, and just gestures toward the door, dismissing me. I leave and walk back to the Alpha Quarters, where 5 pairs of eyes and a visor watch me with questions on their tongues.

Eventually, after all of Alpha Team's questioning, I decide to tell them of my past.. most of it, at least. I sit down on one of the recliners, and wait for the others to settle into the other various seats before I tell my story.

"So, Luke looked like this guy you really don't like that you knew when you were little?" Highlander asked.

"Basically, but I need to tell you guys the whole story before you can completely understand my reasoning." I answer.

I look around at everyone's faces, to see their reactions to this, and they all nod their heads in agreement to my story telling.

"So, you all probably know this already, but I used to live in Japan. I lived there with my parents and my Nii-chan, my big brother. I wasn't Japanese, even though I was born there. I was also born with a congenital heart defect; the one I had was called a Ventricular Septal Defect, or VSD*. It's when there's a hole in the different chambers of the heart that allows the oxygen-rich blood and oxygen-poor blood to mix. It makes the heart work more than it should and can cause all types of shit to happen. Mine was medium-sized, so it didn't cause too much problems, but I always had to be careful not to overwork myself. My VSD caused an irregular heartbeat, which doesn't allow blood to flow to where it needs to be in time. My parents were too poor to afford a surgery to close it, so I stayed home with them and didn't go to school. My Nii-chan would come home every day and teach me things he learned in school. My parents were teaching me how to read and write, I think I was 3 years old, when they were killed in an accident." I paused in my story telling for a moment, trying to remember what they looked like. Every time I tried to picture my parents, Nii-chan always appeared instead.

"We're sorry for your loss, Rachel." Scarlet said comfortingly. Snake Eyes walked over from his seat at the island and placed a hand on my shoulder.

I smiled at the gesture, but waved him away. "It's alright, I can't really remember them. All I remember is Nii-chan." I said.

"So, what happened after your parents passed?" Breaker asked.

"Nii-chan and I ran away. We didn't want to be placed in foster care. All of the Japanese couples looking to adopt would hate to have two _gaijin_, outsiders, as children. Nii-chan and I lived on the streets for a few years, then he told me to go into the orphanage and get myself adopted. He said it was so that whoever adopted me would pay to have my heart fixed and love me like Haha and Chichi* did. So, after a few arguments, I went in by myself and eventually I was adopted by this nice couple from America. They passed all the guidelines, and I was sent to live with them. I lost touch with my brother after that, and I still really miss him. But, I thought about my new parents a lot, and decided to be the perfect daughter for them - I even took ballet lessons to please my new mother! I was really happy during those first few years. When I was about 7 years old though, my foster parents divorced, and I lived with my foster mom and step-dad. That Luke guy, the person he reminded me of, he showed up around that time." I said, ending my story. "That's why I attacked him. He reminded me of the divorce and all that."

_You're lying again._

**_That 'divorce/rough patch' thing isn't really why you hate him is it?_ **My voices chimed in again, giggling maniacally.

_I thought I told you two to be quiet!_ I growled in my head.

"Well, that's quite a story, Rachel." Duke said.

"Yep, but at least I can hold my own now." I responded.

Feeling a tap on my shoulder, I turn my head to find Snake Eyes with a pen and piece of paper in hand. He handed the paper to me and went to wait by the door.

_I need to speak with you in private. Follow me._

Suddenly suspicious, I give the group my good-byes and follow Snake Eyes out the door.

* * *

Snake Eyes brought me back to his training dojo.

After we both were inside, Snake shut and locked the door. It set my nerves on edge, and I felt myself already tensing for a fight. Snake Eyes noticed my discomfort and took out his katanas, placing them on the floor. He the walked past me and over to the weapons wall, grazing his fingertips against the bamboo panels along the far side of the room. There was a small _click_ and one of the panels suddenly lifted up to reveal a strange-looking weapon.

I came closer to Snake Eyes and once I was next to him, I noticed the weapon was a beat-up old bokken with a cloth handle. Snake picked up the old sword and gently laid it against the wall. Underneath, I saw an old photograph.

I took the photo out from its hiding place and stared at it in amazement.

The photo was of my old family. My blonde-haired, blue-eyed mother and father were young in this picture, standing underneath a cherry blossom tree. Nii-chan and I were in the picture too. I was an infant, swaddled in cloth blankets and held in the arms of my mother. Nii-chan was a little 6 or 7-year-old, sitting on Otosan's* shoulders, trying to touch the delicate flower petals.

I looked up at Snake Eyes, about to question him on why he had this picture, only to find that he was staring at me intently, like he was expecting me to ask him.

"Why do you have this?" I asked him.

Snake Eyes took the photograph from my hands, and pointed to little Nii-chan, then to himself.

".. Are you saying, that you're my Nii-chan?" I questioned, not wanting to believe it, but hoping all the same.

Snake Eyes nodded 'yes', but I needed more than just his word for proof.

"Take off your mask," I commanded. "Let me see your face."

Snake Eyes hesitated for a moment, before reluctantly removing his visor. Brown eyes stared back at me, contrasting against Snake's pale skin. From how much his visor covered, I could see the top of a beauty mark on Snake Eyes' cheek. _Right where Nii-chan's would be._

Tears prick at my eyes, but I don't let them fall as I grab Nii-chan and press my face into his chest, my shoulders starting to shake. Nii-chan strokes my back like he used to do and puts the picture and bokken back in their hiding spot. He pushes the secret panel back down again and then gives me the biggest bear hug anybody has ever gotten in the history of bear hugs.

Only then do I let my tears fall.

* * *

**A/N: Just wanted to let you all know, I wanted to post this on the 4th of July as a gift for you all, but I went camping in a campground that doesn't have fucking internet! GRAAHH! ..*takes deep breath* anyway, I decided to combine two chapters to make up for my lack of updating. I also lost the first (and better) version of Rachel's fight with Luke, so I hate that fight scene with a passion since it's a hurried, shitty version of my original. **

**I****'m going to go with the movie's timeline for this story, but since I'm not sure how long of a timeframe it was from when Cobra took the nuclear warheads to when they set them off in Paris, I'm going to make it about a 2 month gap. (Besides, Cobra has to find the perfect time to set the warheads off, not counting the time it takes to activate them.) That way Rip and Duke have time to adjust and Rachel can have some Nii-chan 1-on-1 time. Rachel was inducted as a Joe at the 1 1/2 month mark. So she'll have a 1/2 month to get used to all kinds of shit.**

**As Rachel is a ballerina, I will be including ballet terms in the story, and will either provide a link to YouTube to show what it is/how it's done, or I'll explain with words.**

***Bokken- a wooden sword shaped like a katana (may be curved or short, depending on type). Normally used for sword training and specific types are used in Kendo (modern Japanese martial art, descended from traditional swordsmanship)**

***Solar Plexus- network of nerves in the abdomen, behind the stomach (contains ganglia sending nerve fibers to internal organs in abdomen); if struck hard enough, will cause the diaphragm to have a muscle spasm, and said person won't be able to catch their breath; other side affects- heart bruising, diaphragm tears/rips, or rib damage at the base of the sternum.**

***VSD (Ventricular Septal Defect)- I'll post a link that explains and describes congenital heart problems on my profile. I altered a few symptoms to fit my story, so don't get all confuzzled when some stuff doesn't add up**

***Haha/Chichi- in Japanese, they mean 'mother' and 'father'. This is what you call your parents when you _talk about them to other people_ (ex 1. My mother is pretty. Haha is pretty. ex 2. My father is smart. Chichi is smart.)**

***Otosan-'father/dad' (polite form); what you call your father (ex 'Hi there, Dad!' 'Hi there, Otosan!') ... (Mother is Okasan)**

** If you need a better explanation, go to my profile and I'll have a link posted for all to behold**

**.. Hoped everybody enjoyed this chapter! Please review! **

*******Just a heads up: _updating will be scattered -_ I normally go camping or am just busy in general during the summer, so updates may be within days or months of each other. (I normally write more in the summer though, so chapters should be longer ;) )**


	7. A New Friend

**HOORAY for updates! :) .. I've suffered from writer's block and since I volunteered to rewrite my little brother's summer reading paper for him the other day (because I couldn't make out any semi-logical sentence from what he typed), my muse has been shot to death. Why do I have to be the good older sister!? Can't I just go back to how it normally is, with us arguing loud enough for some of our neighbors to hear? It was so much simpler and I got everything I wanted to do done.**

* * *

_-Rachel's_ _POV_

After I was done crying, Nii-chan led me back to my room. On our way there, I caught sight of a furry body making its way toward us rapidly from the direction of the cafeteria. Nii-chan crouched down just as the blur ran into him, successfully knocking him onto his back. I chuckled softly when I realized that what trampled him was a large gray-furred wolf. Nii-chan scratched behind the wolf's ears, and pushed the animal off of him enough to get into a sitting position. I folded my legs underneath me and sank down to be at their eye level. The wolf turned toward me with an inquisitive look on its face, ears erect, and gazed at my face. I didn't stare directly at the wolf, since I didn't want it to think I was being aggressive. Nii-chan petted the wolf's head and toyed with the collar around its neck to get my attention. Inscribed on the small brass plate was _Timber_. I looked back up at Timber and put my hand, palm out, close to Timber and waited silently to see what his reaction would be.

Timber sniffed my hand lightly before moving closer to my face and smelling that too. He sat back on his haunches and gazed at me again, so I pet his head and scratched behind his ears like Nii-chan did. Timber made a soft yipping sound and licked my wrist, then stood up to his full 2''7' height at the shoulder. He walked a few feet away from Nii-chan and I and bowed like a little show dog performing his best trick to the judges. I smiled softly before copying Timber's bow and let a small _yip_ escape my mouth. Not a heartbeat later, I was tackled to the floor by the cute humongousaur of fur and I laughed as I play fought with him. Nii-chan joined in too and we spent a few minutes wrestling Timber before Nii-chan decided we should head back to our rooms again.

When we walked through the doors to our barracks, Timber sped by us and jumped straight into a large dog bed in the corner of the living room. S_trange, I didn't notice that before, but oh well_, I thought. The others had gone downstairs to either eat their supper or go to the gym, if the hastily scribbled note left on the counter had anything to say about it. Seeing the note reminded me of how late it must be back home, and my body immediately began to droop and feel like it turned to stone. I wanted nothing more than to go to my room and sleep, but I couldn't make my body move any farther than a few inches at a time with my feet dragging as bad as they were. Honestly, I didn't feel like moving at that point anyway. My world did several flips today; what with flying here, getting freaked out by Luke, attacking him, getting scolded like a little kid by Hawk, telling my team mates my life story, and getting taken aside by one of said team mates - only to find out that he's my _Nii-chan_. If I could think properly right now, this whole thing would sound cliché and be in some happily-ever-after kiddie story. Right now, I don't care if it _is_ cliché or not - I just want to sleep for a few days without people interrupting me for anything.

Nii-chan must have seen my change in posture, 'cause he all but lifted me while he pushed me closer to my door. He opened the door for me, and gave me a nudge that propelled me towards my bed. I took three steps then fell head-first into my comforter. I never remembered how good my bed felt before. _Maybe it's because I'm tired.. Yeah, that's why.. _I could barely keep my thoughts from flying away into my sleep-deprived mind, but I could feel somebody taking off my shoes and pushing me into something warm and .. _it was moving? Oh, it's breathing! _I thought as I was let go and fell back into bed again, this time under the sheets.

I focused my eyes enough to see Snake Eyes - _Nii-chan, _a voice inside me said - lean over me and grab the other side of the sheets and tuck me in. _Was that _him _breathing before? I didn't realize he had held me for a sec..._

My thoughts started dying down as my eyes closed, and I buried my face deeper into my pillows, trying to get comfortable. Before my sense of time left me, I felt a hand, at least twice the size of my own, rest on my head. A memory of my brother doing this to me every night before I fell asleep flashed through my mind. I smiled softly at it and let my dreams take hold of me. Maybe I'll dream of something good tonight.

* * *

_-Snake Eyes POV_

I closed the door to Rachel's room and headed over to the kitchen area to find something to snack on. Even though I was hungry, I felt like staying near Rachel a little more. Who knows how many times I'll get to put her to bed like I did when we were young? I might as well make the most of this little victory of mine, soak it up while I can.

I found a random, seemingly harmless apple in the microwave; most likely due to Ripcord or Duke. They forget to put things away - or where they leave things, for the matter - so easily. I washed the apple in the sink and pulled my mask down to my neck, then began eating. Hopefully I'll finish before anyone comes up here. I don't really enjoy the thought of exposing my face to my team mates just yet. Scarlet is the only one who has seen it so far, and that was just because she was caught in the same explosion with me. My face and her legs were the most badly burned parts of our bodies, and they have gotten better over the years, but I still don't like to show too many people if I can help it. I tossed the apple core into the trashcan by the counter and went over to look for the TV remote by the couch.

After finding it wedged between the seat cushions, I settled down on the couch and flipped through the channels. Timber laid down by me on the floor with a huff, like he wanted to keep playing with me. I pet his head as an apology, then settled back in the couch. Just as I decided to watch a televised martial arts showdown, my team mates came through the door, laughing and talking quite loudly. I really do love to see them all goofing off and generally having a fun time together, but tonight it has to be quiet. I don't know if Rachel still has the same sleeping habits, but she could wake up any moment and have a fit, no matter how childish it sounds. Besides, she's been up since 3:30am (US time), didn't sleep at all on the jet, played with Timber (who like to play rough) and got in a fight - she's bound to be tired.

I got up and stood in front of my team mates, motioning for them all to settle down and brought my finger to my lips for silence. They quieted down quickly, and I pointed to where the rooms were, then pretended to be sleeping. They seemed to get most of what I was saying; only Scarlet was certain. If the others had trouble understanding, then I've overestimated them greatly.

Once I made my point, I went back to shut the television off and headed over to my room, Timber at my side. Hopefully I can get some rest and see Rachel in a better mood in the morning.

* * *

_*A few hours later*_

Screaming.

It was all I could hear. At first, I thought the Pit was under attack, but the sound wasn't coming from all around me. It was coming from the room next to mine - _Rachel's room!_

I shot out of bed, put on my mask as fast as I could, and dashed into the hallway; Timber already past by me and was at Rachel's room. I was joined by Duke and Ripcord on my sides, Highlander behind them from what I could tell, and I glimpsed Scarlet holding something in her hands - probably a gun - and standing outside her doorway. I was tempted to kick down Rachel's door, but decided against it and wrenched the door open hard enough to send it crashing into the wall behind it. I moved forward before the door was completely open, and I stood in the middle of the room searching for Rachel.

She was tangled in her sheets, her legs falling off the side of the bed, her arms gripping her mattress and bed sheets, and her head was buried under her pillow. She was still screaming.

Someone turned on the lights in the room, and I worked with Highlander and Duke to untangle Rachel from the sheets and get her to let go of her bed before she hurt herself. Once Rachel was separated from her bed, I grabbed her, sat on her bed, and pulled her into my arms. She started to thrash about, like _I_ was the enemy, but Timber jumped on her bed and proceeded to lick her face and shoulders. She calmed down enough to stop moving as forcefully, and opened her eyes about a moment later.

Rachel looked like she nearly had a heart attack when she woke up. I thought she was going to deck me for a second, before I noticed a spark of recognition flash in her eyes. I set her back on her bed, and made to move out of her private space before I felt a small hand grasp my wrist. I turned my head enough to notice Rachel was clutching both me _and_ Timber like we were saving her only lifelines. I stepped closer to Rachel and unhooked her hand from Timber's furry shoulder, and placed it gently on top of him. Rachel looked at what I was doing and quickly began smoothing Timber's fur down, a small "Sorry" whispered for his expense.

Highlander handed Rachel her sheets back and drifted over to the end of her bed. Duke came closer to Rachel and leaned against the bedframe, and I noticed Ripcord and Scarlet had occupied the doorway.

"Are you alright, Rachel?" Duke asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Rachel replied. "Just a bad dream, is all."

"That didn't sound like a 'bad dream'." Scarlet said, voicing my thoughts.

"Certainly didn't _look_ like one either, what with you almost falling out of your bed and looking like you were gonna get you head chopped off when you woke up." Ripcord stated.

With a pale face and an slightly irritated expression, Rachel replied, "_Fine._ It wasn't any old 'bad dream'. It was more like a night terror. I suffer from them, now can you guys get out of my room? I'm feeling claustrophobic."

"Sure." Highlander said quickly, before leaving the room, Duke following him at a slower pace. Scarlet and Ripcord stayed outside the doorway for a few heartbeats before leaving as well. Rachel's hold on my wrist tightened, and I put my other hand on Rachel's before patting it comfortingly.

Rachel had this look of fear on her face, like she was afraid I would leave still, so I nudged Timber out of the way and settled back on the bed. Rachel sighed softly before laying back herself and allowed Timber to climb up onto her and lick her chin. Rachel let go my wrist and put her arm over her eyes, her mouth quivering slightly. I stroked her arm gently as she started to cry again. I always hated it when Rachel had nightmares. She sometimes went to our parents' room, but after it was just us two, she would come crawling over to me for comfort and bury her head in my chest. She didn't like crying in front of anyone then, and it looks like that hasn't changed. Whatever she dreamt about must have shaken her up badly, for her to be shaking this much. Timber whimpered softly and nuzzled his head against Rachel's neck, and she moved her arm away from her face to wrap around his neck. I slid my arm underneath her shoulders and rubbed my thumb against her other arm. No matter how much I want to hold her close like I used to, I won't because Rachel looked like she needed space.

Rachel curled into herself and around Timber with a half-choked sob. She buried her face into Timber's chest fur, while her legs rested against his stomach. Her body kept shuddering violently, and her legs would occasionally jerk or twitch before settling down. I placed my hand on her back, and carefully traced circles and even a few random kanji. Rachel took a slow, deep breath that still shook with the force of a sob and uncurled herself from Timber, straightening back out on her bed. She patted Timber a few times before resting her head in the crook of my shoulder.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to get snappy with everyone and break down." She whispered into my arm.

I grabbed her palm and traced each letter of my answer to her, hoping she would be able to piece all of it together without a paper. _No need to be sorry, it is normal to seem angry and cry when a person is scared._

"Okay," she replied, sounding more defeated than anything. I stroked her hair until she fell asleep again an hour later, and Timber nuzzled Rachel again every time she whimpered.

* * *

**I _love _Timber so much, I had to put him in here somewhere! I wrote some new stuff onto this chapter after rereading part of it, so that's the reason why some things may not add up. I was planning on writing Rachel's POV of the night terror section, but I didn't because I am busy doing three things at once right now, what with fixing this up, writing my little brother's stuff for him, and rewriting my own summer reading stuff again. Please review and favorite this, I need more motivation so I can add in another chapter before I get swamped with school shit!**


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